UPDATED May 21
In a unanimous vote, the City-County Council Parks & Recreation Committee will send a do-pass recommendation for Proposal 86 [PDF] to the entire Council. The Council will take up the matter at its June 8 meeting.
May 19 update
The Indy Parks Board voted unanimously to approve the lease proposal. The City-County Council Parks & Recreation Committee will vote on Proposal 86 [PDF] regarding the lease at its May 21 meeting.
On May 19, the Indianapolis Board of Parks and Recreation will hold its monthly meeting only at 3:30 p.m. Included on the agenda is item No. 3, 2020, a public hearing about a proposal for IndyParks to lease space in a structure proposed for Broad Ripple Park.
According to the public notice: [PDF]
The purpose of the hearing will be to receive public comment on the following: The Consolidated City of Indianapolis, Department of Parks and Recreation proposes to lease [PDF] from BR Health Holdings, LLC approximately 25,000 sq. ft. of space at a new building to be built by BR Health Holdings, LLC. The building shall be built at approximately 1426 Broad Ripple Ave., Indianapolis, Indiana. The lease shall be for thirty (30) years with options to extend the term of the lease for two (2) additional terms of ten (10) years each. There shall be one year of rent abatement and beginning in year two of the lease the lease rental shall be $79,900.00 per month. Thereafter, there shall be periodic increases to the monthly lease rental. The proposed lease is available for public review by emailing the Consolidated City of Indianapolis, Department of Parks & Recreation at IndyParksCS@indy.gov beginning at 3:30 p.m. on May 8, 2020.
The matter is complicated by an April 3 lawsuit filed in Marion Superior Court by three Broad Ripple property owners seeking to overturn the Metropolitan Development Commission’s (MDC) March 5 decision to approve a variance to permit construction of a 40,000-square-foot family center in Broad Ripple Park.
At issue is the 15,000 square feet of space that will be used for medical offices operated by Community Health Network. According to the April 3 court filing, “MDC’S grant of the Use Variance was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, not in accordance with law and unsupported by substantial evidence.” The lawsuit alleges that construction of the building by BR Health Holdings in the park and its use will cause the property owners “immediate and irreparable loss of property values.”
Lawyers for the City have requested dismissal of the lawsuit, [PDF] arguing that the property owners lack standing to file suit as they have not demonstrated any personal financial loss. Alternatively, the City’s attorney’s have asked for a hearing to determine if the property owners have standing and if that is found to be the case, that an expedited schedule be established since the delay caused by the pending legal matter “jeopardizes the viability of the project.”
On May 5, Judge Gary Miller granted a motion by the plaintiff’s attorney, David Dearing, seeking an extension of time to respond to the motion to dismiss. Responses are due on or before June 17, 2020.
Virtual Public Hearing
To comply with social distancing requirements during the public health emergency, the May 19 meeting of the parks board will be conducted online, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Public comments may be submitted in advance of the meeting using an online comment form. All comments must be received no later than 3:30 p.m. on May 18.
Interested citizens may comment during the meeting through the WebEx Q&A function; by WebEx phone numbers (shown below); or by using the WebEx Q&A box to submit a comment or question. During the hearing, IndyParks staff will monitor the WebEx Q&A box in real time for comments.
To connect with the digital public hearing slated for 3:30 p.m. on May 19, 2020 use this link
- Select your preferred audio (using your computer or one of the telephone numbers below)
– Use your computer or electronic device’s audio options.
– Or, call: U.S. Toll Free: 1-844-992-4726, or U.S. Toll: +1-408-418-938
- If prompted, enter the Event ID (access code): 715 253 376
